Boat anchor



May 14, 1957 s. PARRY BOAT ANCHOR Filed March 21, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

ZZ/ZF/LLE yam BY I apg ja w United States BOAT ANCHOR Lucille'S. Parry, Cuyahoga Falls, @hio Application March 21, 1955, Serial No. 4%,651

2 Claims. (Cl. 114-408) anchors, insofar as I am aware, have been-relatively heavy and bulky to carry, and/ or to store when in inoperative position. Furthermore, a problem that continually arises with anchors is that they may become fouled in a rocky bottom :of a lake, or the anchor may become entangled with roots, or trees on the bottom of the lake, or become otherwise fouled so that itis very difficult, if not impossible'torrelease the anchors in many instances, from their anchored or operative positions, below the surface of a body of water.

Erequentlyitis. necessary to carry an anchor fromplace to place. and. many people use a relatively large anchor even with a small. boat that could be efiectively secured in: position by a relatively small anchor. Such large anchors; also are usually .difiicult to lift up over a gunwale of a boat due to the odd shape of the anchor, the weight thereof, or for other reasons.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved type of an anchor characterized by its .compact size when in inoperative position, and characterized by its use of resilient, uniform diameter fluke wires for securing the anchor in position when used.

Another object OffllC invention is to use a pliable or flexible wire'as the flukes for a boatanchor, which wire can be originally of substantially C-shape but which can be straightened and/or be reversely curved when a severe force is applied thereto so as to free or release such wire from engagement with a tree root or other member tending to hold the anchor below the water surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide a boat anchor made from relatively few parts which can be easily assembled and which has finkes readily movable pivotally from operative to inoperative positions, as desired.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be made more apparent as the specification proceeds.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of an anchor embodying the prin ciples of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1 but with several complete fluke wires being shown and with one fluke wire being broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of the anchor of Fig. 1 with a variety of positions of the fluke wires being indicated thereon.

The present invention, generally speaking, relates to a boat anchor that comprises a short metal body which has a plurality of circumferentially equally spaced lugs extending from one end thereof, a fluke wire for each of the lugs, and means pivotally securing the fluke wires individually to the lugs for movement from a position sub- ,s ICQ stantially collapsed. against the metal body to a position extending substantially normally to the longitudinal of such body, andwith thefluke wires being of uniform diameter from end :to end :thereof and being pliable to bend or flex when severestresses are exerted thereon.

When referring to corresponding parts shown in the accompanying drawings and referred. to in the specification, corresponding numerals are used to facilitate comparison therebetween.

Reference now should be had to the details of the structure shown in the accompanying drawingand a boat anchor of the invention is indicated as a whole by the numeral 1. This-anchor includes a-body 2 or center portion thereof, which body 2 usually is relatively short and preferably is of cylindrical shape in cross section. The body 2 may haveanendfiange 3 provided thereon at one end thereof, whichflange 3 has an aperture 4 therein for engaging a rope, chain or similar member 5 so that the boat anchor can be lifted from an operative position at thebottomofa lake-or be otherwisecontrolled, as desired.

The body 2 normally is made from metal and it preferably hasa plurality of integral lugs 6 extending from the opposite end of thebody 2 from that having the end flange 3 thereon. Preferably three of such lugs 6 are-provided and they are oircumferentially equally spaced around-the periphery of the body 2 with such lugs being of. substantially -U-shape in section and having closed bottom orouter end.

As an important feature of the invention, a resilient, or pliable fluke wire 7 is provided for engagement with each of the lugsi6. These wires 7 are of uniform diameter from end to end thereof and havev no special hook or pointedmeansprovided'on the free ends of. the wires. The wires-have annular sections 8 provided on one end thereof for receiving means, such as rivets or bolts 9, therein sothat the flukewires 7 can .be secured-to the body 2. of. the boat anchor for pivotal movement with relation thereto. These fluke wires 7 normally are of substantially G-shape, as indicated in Fig. l, andextend substantially normally. from: the longitudinalaxis ofthe body 2 when operativclypositioned by engaging associated portions of the body 2.

The wireoflukes of the anchor .of the invention can he made from any suitable materialwhich will be pliable in accordance with the requirements of the invention. Thus conventional types of brass may be used in making these dukes, whereas I have also found that ASME standard alloys numbers 11-68, U69 and U7() are all very satisfactory for my purposes. These alloys are high tensile alloys with a tensile strength of between one hundred thousand and one hundred fifty thousand pounds per square inch. The alloys are high silicon steel alloys with a small percentage of molybdenum therein. For anchoring relatively small boats, these wire fiukes can be anywhere from about of an inch to about /2 of an inch in diameter to give satisfactory support and anchoring action, but which provide flukes that can be straightened or otherwise bent if necessary, in order to be released from means fouling such fiukes under the water. The flukes are, in other words, easily given a permanent set, but will maintain their C-shape under normal use for effective anchoring action.

However, by the use of the pliable fluke Wires 7, the anchor 1 will give a very effective anchoring action for small boats, such as heats up to about 16 feet long under normal conditions. However, should one of the fluke wires 7 become locked in or to some obstruction at the bottom of the lake or other place where the boat anchor is in use, then by pulling on the boat anchor 1 and fluke wire '7 by the rope 5 or other member used for controlling the boat anchor, such stress exerted on the fluke wire 7 will either straighten such wire or bend it even to reverse C-shape so as to permit the boat anchor 1 to be cleared from the member or means fouling such anchor beneath the water surface. It will be noted that even if two or more of the fluke wires become fouled with means below the water surface, a stress exerted on the body 2 of the anchor will effectively cause a straightening of all of such wires and a release of the boat anchor.

Fig. 3 of the drawings clearly shows that the maximum curvature in the C-shaped flukes 7 occurs at a portion thereof adjacent the lug 6 in which it is mounted. The closed outer end of the lug 6 provides a zone of force application for bending the fiukes 7 should be one or more flukes become fouled on an article when in use. The fluke, if fouled at its outer end, then could be relatively easily bent in its length of maximum curvature by the greater length lever arm for forces transmitted to the fluke 7 at the lug 6 in relation to the length of lever arm from the point of fouling of the fluke to the maximum curvature portion thereof where the necessary bending action to clear the fluke would primarily occur.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that a relatively compact, small boat anchor has been provided by the invention and that the feeler wires provided therefor can readily be straightened when the wires are caught or fouled below the water surface. The anchor is of relatively uncomplicated construction and can be made at low cost so that the objects of the invention have been achieved.

For many small boats, pliable wires about A" in diameter have given excellent results in the fluke wires 7.

While one complete embodiment of the invention has been disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that modification of this particular embodiment of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is: l. A boat anchor consisting of a metal body having a flange with an aperture therein for engaging a support 'leg portions of said lugs by engaging said annular portions for swinging movement from a position substantially collapsed against said metal body to a position extending substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of said metal body, said fluke wires striking the closed outer ends of said lugs to be limited in pivotal movement away from said metal body thereby, said fluke being of uniform diameter from end to end thereof andv being pliable to bend and take a permanent set when a severe stress is exerted thereon to enable a fluke wire to be straightened and freed from engaging an article if necessary when the anchor is to be released, said fluke wires having maximum curvature in portions thereof adjacent the edge of the said lugs.

2. A boat anchor comprising a cylindrical metal body having a flange with an aperture therein for engaging a support member extending from one end thereof, said metal body having a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially directed axially extending integral lugs having pairs of parallel legs therein and closed axially outer ends extending axially from the opposite end thereof, a fluke wire having an annular portion at one end thereof for each of said lugs, and means pivotally securing said fluke wires individually to and between the leg portions of said lugs by engaging said annular portions for swinging movement from a position substantially collapsed against said metal body to a position extending substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of said metal body, said fluke wires striking the closed outer ends of said lugs to be limited in pivotal movement thereby, said fluke being of uniform diameter from end to end thereof and being pliable to bend and take a permanent set when a severe stress is exerted thereon to enable a fluke wire to be straightened and freed from engaging an article when the anchor is to be released, said lugs extending the radial length of said metal body, the open center portions of said lugs between said parallel legs connecting to each other at the center of said metal body and said lugs having circumferentially open areas therebetween to facilitate water flow through said lugs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,339,697 England May 11, 1920 2,701,539 Morel Feb. 8, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 88,704 Sweden Mar. 2, 1937 

